He nodded toward his wife. “I was telling Emma that our neighbor David McKay rode by to ask how we were handling the drought. The creek that cuts through both of our properties has been running low. He has another spring closer to his ranch house. He wanted me to know he would be keeping his cattle closer to that so as not to tax the creek.”
“Oh. I...I didn’t know he was your neighbor.” So much for taking comfort in the fact that she’d likely never see the man again except for across the aisle at church like she had this morning. “Does he stop by often?”
“Now and then.” Matthew tilted his head to survey her. “I didn’t know you knew him.”
“I don’t.” Watchful silence descended on the table until she finally gave in to Matthew’s silent probing. “I met him once.”
“You did? When?”
“Yesterday. I ran into him on my walk. He was very kind.”
“Was he? How so?”
“Well, I was obviously upset and he—Honestly, what does it matter?”
He grinned. “Just curious is all.”
“Beware, Caroline. Your brother is on a campaign to get you to move to Little Horn by any means necessary.”
He shrugged. “All I’m saying is it would be awfully convenient to have you living practically next door.”
Caroline let out a disbelieving laugh. “So now you already have me married to a man I hardly know and living next door.”
“Well, I think you’d know him pretty well by then.”
“Matthew, give her some time to breathe. She just barely escaped marrying a—”
“No-good, low-down skunk of a man,” he finished for his wife. “David is the exact opposite of that, from what I can tell. Besides, he’s been a widower for five years now. He’s likely to be of a mind to take another wife soon.”
“The last thing I need is to start thinking about another man.” Yet she already had, and Matthew wasn’t helping her stop.
“All I’m saying is you could do worse.”
She sighed. “That much I know.”
He paused. In that moment, she was certain he saw how much she’d been hurt, because his jaw tightened. “Mother and Father were so blinded by that Nico fellow’s talent that they couldn’t see his real character. If I’d been around to have my say, he never would have gotten anywhere near my little sister.”
“Yes, well, you weren’t around. I don’t fault you for that. You have a life to live here.” Caroline gestured to her auburn-haired sister-in-law, who was kind enough to illustrate the point by already having one hand on her belly. “What’s more, it isn’t your responsibility to keep me from making a fool of myself. It isn’t our parents’, either. They might not have seen him for who he really was, but neither did I. I’m the one who let myself be taken in by a...a would-be bigamist.”
His brown eyes filled with worry and concern. “You didn’t make a fool of yourself. He wasn’t honest with you. That’s on him. Not you. And you’re right. It isn’t entirely our parents fault, either. Though, in my opinion, they should have been paying more attention. That doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is that you have to find a way to stop blaming yourself. You have to put this behind you.”
“That’s easier said than done, and it will be practically impossible to do if you keep bringing it up.”
“Then I won’t bring it up.”
She leaned forward to press her advantage. “It also isn’t helpful to have you pushing me toward a man I’ve only met once.”
“Fine.” This time the reluctance in his voice was almost palpable. “I’ll stop, but I hope you don’t rule it out.”
Caroline let out a huff of exasperation. Emma jumped in with a little distraction. “Caroline, I remember that the last time you were in Little Horn, you mentioned how much you enjoyed riding. Are you still taking lessons in Austin?”
“I had to stop the lessons after I started working at the music school, but I still ride as often as I can.”
Emma gave a satisfied nod. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. About a year ago, Matthew bought me a beautiful palomino mare. Her name is Dulce, and she’s as sweet as they come. You’re welcome to ride her whenever you like.”
“Thank you. I’d love to ride her.” In fact, a ride was exactly what she needed to clear her head.
After they were finished eating, Caroline headed to the barn to saddle up. She intentionally refrained from asking Matthew about anything more than the basic layout of his land. She wanted to explore it herself as she hadn’t had the chance to do when she’d arrived for his wedding three years ago. She soon found herself alone on a landscape that was a mixture of open land and tree-covered hills.
With the sun bearing down on her and Dulce from a cloudless sky, she headed for the path that led through the trees. It brought her to a creek. The sound of water rushing steadily downstream over rocks and the occasional downed tree soothed her tattered nerves.
A barking dog dashed across the path. Caroline started, and Dulce spooked a little, shying away from the puppy that was now splashing into the shallow creek. Caroline almost had the mare under control when a little boy burst from the trees yelling, “Come back!”
Dulce bolted into a gallop. Heart lurching into her throat, Caroline automatically slouched into the saddle and held on for dear life. The ground flew by beneath them. Dulce dodged through the trees and careened into open land. A fence appeared in front of them. She braced herself for the jump. Instead the mare ground to a jarring stop and lowered her head. The world turned end over end. Caroline landed on the ground with a thud.
Staring up at the sky, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She was dying.
“Breathe, Caroline. Just breathe. Take a breath.”
The voice was deep, soothing, commanding. She forced herself to obey it. She took in a small breath. Her lungs eased. She gasped in air.
“Calmly now. That’s it. Nice and deep.”
Slowly becoming aware of the strong hand holding hers, she lowered her gaze from the sky until she found David McKay’s. He offered her a reassuring smile that made her breath hitch again. She concentrated on the task at hand. Did she have enough air in her to speak? If so, she’d like to ask what was wrong with her.
“You got the wind knocked out of you. On top of that, you’re probably a little stunned. You’ll be all right in a few minutes.”
He was right. She was starting to feel better already. She tried to sit up. He pressed a hand to her shoulder to stop her. “Whoa now. Take it easy. Before you get up, tell me—does anything hurt?”
She paused to take inventory. Her voice came out a little breathlessly. “Everything hurts a little, but nothing vital seems injured. Just my pride.”
“Not much you can do when a horse decides to bolt other than stick to your saddle and try to calm her down.” He helped her sit up. “You did that pretty well until she decided to throw you.”
“Where is she?”
Approval filled his eyes. Apparently, the way to this rancher’s heart was through worrying about her horse. “My men will round her up for you.”
“Thank you.” She rubbed at the burning sensation on her arm.
He caught her hand and pulled it away to look at the spot. “Looks like you’ve got a pretty bad scrape there.”
“How?”